[Subyne Simean]

Hi,

I was wondering if you can help me with this please - at random times (but at least once a day), my screen turns black but I can still see and move the mouse. The computer stays switched on and appears to be running fine (sound from music/video is still audible).

When it happens, I could be doing anything - gaming, or just browsing. It has happened even when I'm not using any programs. I have to reboot the PC to make it work again.

On the software side of things, I have installed XP and fully updated it, then installed the latest drivers from the manufacturer's website(s). So everything's fresh on that side of things.

My hardware is all brand new, aside from the hard drive. My hardware spec is as follows:

Monitor: CiBOX TFT 22"
Case: Thermaltake Tsunami Aluminum Case
PSU: OCZ 750w
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Heatsink: Tuniq Tower 120
RAM: 2x 1GB OCZ 1066Mhz DDR3
HD: 500GB (not sure what brand)
Sound: Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Mobo: ASUS P5E3 Deluxe WiFi-AP@n
GFX: Jetway GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB (factory overclocked to 650Mhz)

My hard drive has been having trouble lately - it took 6 minutes for it to load up the installer from a 362mb .exe file. Maybe this is the problem?

Please let me know your thoughts, as I continue testing :)

many thanks

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Sometimes this is caused by having both a bios power management and windows power management running at the same time. So what you get is a double whammy of some hardware going into hybernation, or standby mode. This can cause the computer to take a long time to respond. Try turning the windows power options to never on all of them and see if the problem goes away. It could be that a file was corrupted that is in the video drivers on the hard drive. It's not likely but anything mechanical is subject to murphy's law. It could also be that your monitor is overheating. I have seen a computer in a hutch that had a TFT display that was overheating inside the cabinet. The cure for that computer was a regular computer desk so the monitor had plenty of airspace to dissipate the heat. Some monitors run hotter than others.

SRX660

[SRX660]

Sometimes this is caused by having both a bios power management and windows power management running at the same time. So what you get is a double whammy of some hardware going into hybernation, or standby mode. This can cause the computer to take a long time to respond. Try turning the windows power options to never on all of them and see if the problem goes away. It could be that a file was corrupted that is in the video drivers on the hard drive. It's not likely but anything mechanical is subject to murphy's law. It could also be that your monitor is overheating. I have seen a computer in a hutch that had a TFT display that was overheating inside the cabinet. The cure for that computer was a regular computer desk so the monitor had plenty of airspace to dissipate the heat. Some monitors run hotter than others.

SRX660

[Subyne Simean]

Sometimes this is caused by having both a bios power management and windows power management running at the same time. So what you get is a double whammy of some hardware going into hybernation, or standby mode. This can cause the computer to take a long time to respond. Try turning the windows power options to never on all of them and see if the problem goes away. It could be that a file was corrupted that is in the video drivers on the hard drive. It's not likely but anything mechanical is subject to murphy's law. It could also be that your monitor is overheating. I have seen a computer in a hutch that had a TFT display that was overheating inside the cabinet. The cure for that computer was a regular computer desk so the monitor had plenty of airspace to dissipate the heat. Some monitors run hotter than others.

SRX660

Thanks for the info :)

I always set my power options in Windows to "never", and the problem is still happening. My monitor is sat on top of a desk, with plenty of airflow around it. When I get home from work I'll test on a 20GB hard drive to see if the 500GB hard drive is causing the issue.

cheers

[Subyne Simean]

I have installed fresh XP onto a formatted 20GB Maxtor Fireball 3 HD. I will test for a week and update this thread in case anyone else is having this issue.